The Other Side
by xBeautifulDreamerx
Summary: She was never normal. And she knew that. In her entire life, she was the only one who could see the dead. Until now. The dead have come back and she is alone...unil she meets a group that might need her help as much as she needs their help.
1. Chapter 1 Voices

(A/N – I do not own any of TWD. I hope you like this story, the main characters name is Karmya; pronounced Karma. I'll explain later. Enjoy!)

'Run Karmya,' the voices yelled at me. I knew that only I could hear them, but I still looked around to make sure that none of the dead had heard. I nodded and packed everything I could. A chill ran down my back as the voices got louder and louder. 'Run!'

'Don't worry about that stuff!'

'Run now or die!'

'If you wait any longer you won't make it!'

'Karmya!'

I froze. That last voice was new. I looked around searching for the person that had said it.

'GO!' the voice yelled again and this time I slung the bag over my shoulder and took off running. Twigs and branches scrapped against my face, arms, and legs. But I hardly felt the sting anymore. As I ran the bag started to weigh more and the sweat was soaking through my clothes making the random breeze fell cold against my skin. It was the middle of summer and I could never remember it ever being this hot.

As I started to slow down, the wind blew again, and the scent of death blew in with it. I ducked behind a tree as the voices started to scream again. I looked around for the walking dead, but I saw, and heard nothing. "Where is it?" I muttered to myself.

'Look down!'

'Now!'

'Jump!'

'RUN!'

I looked down and a crawling corpse was about ready to bite into my foot. I jumped onto its head, pounding it into the ground before taking off running again.

'To close.'

'Way to close.'

'Why don't you listen.'

"Why can't you guys be a little more clear," I said out loud knowing that they could hear me if I just thought what I wanted to say. But since the dead started coming back to life, it was easier for me to just answer out loud. With no people around, there was no one to think that I was crazy.

'Karmya.'

"Jack?" I said spinning around, "Oh Jack." I said covering my mouth with my hands. "No, please no," I said as tears came to my eyes.

"Don't cry baby," he said walking over to me. The grass didn't move. The sticks didn't break. "What happened to you?"

"Please don't ask that baby," he said stopping inches away from me. I could sense him in every way. I could smell his shampoo. I could feel the heat pooling in my stomach which happened whenever he was near. I could feel his love for me. And most of all I could feel the love. "I need to know," I said taking dead, slow breaths. He reached his hand out to touch my cheek but his hand passed right through and I only felt a slight electric energy where his hand should have been. "Please," I begged putting my hand up to where his had touched my cheek, "Tell me how you died."

"The camp was raided. I tried to protect everyone, but one of the people from the other group snuck up behind me and," he made a gun with his hand and pretended that he was pulling a trigger that was aimed right at his head. Anger flooded through my body. If I hadn't gone out on a food run that day, maybe I could have helped and then maybe Jack would still be alive. Or maybe I would've died with him.

"Don't be mad," he said resting against one of the trees.

"I'm not mad," I said leaning against the same tree.

"You're lying. You know that I can read how you feel now. Don't lie to me."

"I should've been there for you."

"You would've died. We almost all died."

"I would rather be dead then be away from you."

"I'm right here," he said smiling at me.

"You know what I mean. Did anyone make it?"

"Yea," he said after a moment.

"Who?"

"Dean, Char and that guy I never trusted."

"Bryan?"

"Yeah," he said scratching the back of his neck.

"Do you know where they are?" I asked hoping that I could be back with some people that I knew.

"Charlotte is dead now, she made it through the raid but Dean ended up killing her."

"What!" I hissed.

"They were running away from some dead. And she was getting bigger by the day."

"With his baby!"

"Well it was getting close. And she begged him not to let her get bit or left behind. So he turned and shot her in the head. I stayed there with her as he ran and hid from the dead. But a few minutes later, I heard another gun shot, and then he showed up next to me. We waited for Char to come to us. But it took an entire day. The dead caught up and ate her body. And the baby. It was worse than anything I had ever seen before. It turned out that Char had been waiting for her baby before she would come over to this side. The baby hadn't died until it suffocated inside of her. Dean wanted to kill himself as it happened, he couldn't stay for it. When Char finally showed up she threw herself, and the baby, at Dean. They were so happy that this was all over for them."

"Char got off easy."

"Sad that we can say this now that the world has gone to shit."

"Sometimes I think about ending it like that too."

"NO!" Char's voice rang out through the forest. I turned and she was so close to me that I flinched and almost fell over.

"I did say 'thought' right?" I said looking at Jack. He just laughed.

"Don't even think about it Karmya," Char said glaring at me with a baby in her arms. I smiled and started walking again. I turned to see them walking next to me. "Can I see the baby," I asked turning to Char as I stopped walking. She smiled at me and pulled back the shirt that she had wrapped the baby in. It was a girl, and she was beautiful. Dean showed up in front of us and stoked the baby's face. The baby smiled and curled into Char as Char hugged the baby close. "What's her name?"

"Joanna."

"Isn't she beautiful?" a soft voice asked as the little girl skipped out from behind some of the trees.

"Yes Sophia, she is very beautiful." The little girl had shown up almost a year ago now and she had been glued to my side ever since. She told me that she tried to talk to her mom, but her mom couldn't see her. I explained that not everyone was like me, and that was the reason that her mother couldn't see her. She checked in on her mom every now and then, but mostly she stayed with me. Her story was a sad one. But then again lately everyone's story is sad.

I continued walking as Sophia talked to Char and Dean and Jack and I talked. "You need to be more careful."

"Why? I have you guys to look out for me."

"Karmya," Jack said looking down at me. The wind blew and my hair whipped around my face, but Jack's dark brown hair didn't move at all and I was reminded that he was dead now and sadness filled my body. "Let's keep going," he said trying to get my mind off of things. I nodded and tried not to notice the looks that they gave each other.

It was starting to get dark when Jack put his arm up in front of me. "Who are you," an angry woman asked. She was wearing jeans and a flannel shirt. Her long dark hair didn't blow in the breeze either.

"My name is Karmya," I said as everyone but Jack left, "What's your name?"

"Lori," she said crossing her arms in front of her, "And that's my family in there."

"She needs somewhere safe to go," Jack said stepping up to her, "She just lost all of hers."

"She's not welcomed here," she said looking over her shoulder with a sad look.

"Why not?" I asked stepping in front of Jack.

She sighed, "It's my husband. He does not trust anyone anymore."

"Maybe I can help him, but you'll need to help me first."

(A/N – Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoy it and continue reading!)


	2. Chapter 2 Locked Up

(A/N – A big thank you to **hideher **for being my first review. Please let me know if putting the conversations she has with ghosts in italics makes it easier to follow! Thank you for reading my stories. I hope that you are enjoying them so far.)

With the help of Lori and Jack I was able to move around the majority of the dead and get to a spot at the side of the prison where the barbed wire had fallen down. I carefully climbed up one side and the climbed down halfway then jumped to the ground on the other side of the fence. "Well that was easy," I said brushing my hands against each other as if I was dusting off dirt.

"Don't move," a boy's voice said to me. I put my hands out and to the side to show him that I didn't have a weapon. "Who are you?"

"My name is Karmya," I said slowly turning to face him.

"Funny name," the boy said holding the gun level to my head, "What are you doing here."

"Carl!" a woman's voice yelled, and I watched a young woman and an oriental man running down the hill towards us.

'_That's Maggie and Glen_,' Lori said to me, '_and my son, Carl_.' I nodded knowing that I was the only one that could hear this woman. Carl didn't take his eyes off of my, or the gun, as the two ran towards us. "What are you doing?" the woman names Maggie asked.

"She jumped over the fence," he said still keeping his eyes locked on mine.

'_He's different now too_,' Lori said in my head, '_something has changed. You have to help him Karmya._' I slowly inclined my head letting her know that I heard her and thought back to her, '_I will do my best to help your family_.'

"Why are you here?" Carl asked a little louder this time.

"I came to see your father."

"How do you know my father?" Carl asked lowering the gun just a little bit.

"I know your mother. She told me about you and about your father. I recognized you right away from the pictures your mother use to show me when I would see her," I lied.

'_Tell him that you and I went to school together_,' Lori told me.

"Your mom and I use to go to school together," I said looking at him as his eyes started to mist over.

"My mother is dead," he said flatly dropping the gun more so that it wasn't aimed at me.

"I'm sorry to hear that," I said not moving because I was afraid that he would raise his gun back to me. "Carl…"

"Prove it!" he yelled at me raising the gun back up to me. I put my hands up and tried to listen to Lori talking inside of my head. She was rattling off different things about how this life was ruining her son, and he was never like this and so on and so forth. _'Lori! Snap out of it_!' I thought trying to get her to listen. In the meantime Carl was getting more anxious, so I tried to stall. "What do you mean?"

"Prove to me that you know my mother," he said slower this time to make sure that I heard him.

'_Lori_,' I thought, _'I could really use your help right now._'

"Well?" Carl asked raising his voice a little.

"Carl," Maggie said from behind him, "You're scarring her, give her a minute to think. She knows your name, isn't that something?"

"She could've been outside of the prison listening to us," Carl said never moving away from me.

'_Lori!_' I yelled.

'_Ok_!' Lori said with worry still in her voice, '_tell him about his dad being in an accident right before the dead started walking._'

'_I need more then that Lori_,' I thought to her, '_keep thinking_.'

"I remember your mom calling me when your dad was hurt," I said to him slowly moving my hands back down to my sides, "He was at work and he was shot. Your mother was so worried. I tried to talk to her as much as I could, but when the outbreak hit, we lost touch."

"How come you never came to see us then? I don't remember you at all," Carl said skeptically.

"I was always working. Your mom and I talked after school, but we never really met up. I had two jobs and lived about an hour away. I tried to come see you when your father was hurt, but your mother kept reassuring me that everything was going to be ok."

"What's my dad's name?"

'_Rick_,' Lori said.

"Rick," I repeated.

"Fine," Carl said, "but we are going to do this my way. Turn around."

"Carl?"

"Just do it!" he yelled at me and I did as I was told. He came up behind me and used a zip tie to tie my hands together. "Ow," I said as the plastic cut into my wrists a little bit.

"Carl," Maggie said walking closer as Carl turned me around, "Don't you think that's a little extreme?"

"We can't trust anybody. She might have known my mom, but she could've changed by now."

"Fine," the boy named Glen said putting his hand on Maggie's shoulder, "Let's go find your dad." Maggie and Glen turned and starting walking back up to the prison. 'Well that could have gone better,' I thought to Lori.

'_Sorry_,' Lori said, '_he didn't use to be like that_.'

'_I'm sorry for what this world has done to your family,_' I thought to her feeling her grief. I followed Maggie and Glen while Carl walked behind me. I knew that his gun was still out, so I didn't bother to turn to look at him or try to talk to him.

The walk took forever, or at least it seemed like it did. When we finally got into the prison Carl walked me into one of the prison cells and had me face a wall. He cut off the tie and quickly left the cell and locked it. "Hey!" I said running up to the bars.

"My dad will come talk to you when he can. You'll be safe in here," Carl said walking away. Glen and Maggie stood there and watched as Carl disappeared through the doors he had just walked in through with me. "Sorry about all this," Maggie said as Glen and Maggie walked away in the opposite direction of Carl. I assumed they were going to their cell. I sighed and flopped down on the bed. The moment my head hit the pillow I realized how long it had been since I had actually been in a real bed. My eyes started to droop when Jack appeared on the end of the bed. "_Nice room_," he said to me.

'_Shut up_,' I thought back to him, '_it had a bed. Do you remember the last time we laid in an actual bed?_'

"_Yes_," he said smiling and moving so that he was now sitting on the floor so that he was closer to my head.

'_I miss you_,' I thought to him while turning on my side so that I was looking at him. His face was inches from mine, but in reality, it was much, much further then that. "_I miss you too darling_," he said running his hand over my arm. I shivered as my arm tingled where his hand would have been touching me if it was only a few days ago. I felt a tear slip from my eyes and I quickly squeezed them shut. _"Don't cry darling,_" he said turning to face me more. I didn't open my eyes. "_These things happen_," Jack said softly.

'_This wasn't supposed to happen. We were supposed to get married, and have a family and die together when we were old and grey and we saw our great grandchildren._'

"_Sometimes things don't go the way we plan. Sometimes fate has something better in store for us_."

'_Without you, there is nothing to look forward to. You were, are, my everything._'

"_I will always love you darling. But you need sleep now. There's no use in trying to figure out how the world works right now. Sleep. I'll be here when you wake up."_

'_I love you_,' I thought to him.

"_I love you_," Jack said. And in just a few minutes I fell asleep. And Jack was already there waiting for me. And in my dream, I could feel him. Smell him. We were together again, and I never wanted to wake up again.

But, all dreams end.

"Who's this pretty lil thing?" I gruff male voice with a thick southern drawl called out from the door to my cell. I opened my eyes and sat up quickly. Jack was standing between the door and the bed, and even though I knew he couldn't do anything, I felt a little better. A man with short cropped hair stood at the door with one hand wrapped around the bar. I looked at him closer and noticed that his other arm was missing and in its place was a metal cover and a blade was duct taped to it. His skin was tanned from the harsh sun and I could tell that he was more of a kill first ask later kind of man. The stubble on his face only accented his facial structure making him look even harsher. "Whas yer name girly?" he asked me as I pushed myself as far from him as I could.

'_Don't let him know you're afraid. Stand up_,' Jack said to me. I just sat there.

"I asked ya what yer name was sweetheart," the man said again.

'_Stand up!_' Jack yelled at me. I slowly lowered my feet to the ground and stood up straight. '_Now tell him your name._'

"Karmya," I said.

"What kinda name is that?" the man laughed at me.

"It has a lot of importance to it," I said knowing that this man didn't want to hear my life's story.

"Either way," the man said smiling at me, "Why don't ya come on over 'ere and let Merle get a better look at you?"

"What are ya doin Merle?" another southern accented voice drawled out.

"We got ourselves a visitor lil brother."

"What are ya talkin about Merle," the other voice called out. A few seconds later another man walked up. His dark brown hair was matted to his forehead from sweat and dirt. His blue eyes stood out from the dirt on his face which told me that the two brothers were no strangers to the woods. His stubble was darker and sculpted his face better then his brother's did, and when he grimaced at me the mole on the left side of his face moved when his lip did. His arms were crossed in front of his chest making his biceps stand out in his sleeveless shirt. "Who are ya?"

"Said her name was Karmya," Merle said. At that moment Lori showed up on the right side of me.

'_So you've met the Dixon brother's_,' she said crossing her arms over her chest and I swore a breeze blew through the closed prison room. I made a note to remember that later and I answered her, '_Real charmers aren't they?_'

'_Oh they are much better then they use to be_.'

'_Dangerous?_' Jack asked.

'_Daryl is only dangerous to people who try to hurt the ones he loves, even though he'll never admit to loving anyone. Merle is another story though. Before he was separated from our group he was an alcoholic and he used drugs. He would disappear for days and when he would come back he would sometimes get loud with the other men. He's a harmless flirt though. Talks a lot, but as far as I know he's never touched anyone in our group. Short tempered and racist, but from what I can tell Daryl seems to be keeping him in check. It just depends on how much this man has changed._'

'_I don't trust him Karmya_,' Jack said.

'_I know. I don't either_,' I thought back to him.

"Why are ya here?"

"To talk to Rick," I said firmly.

"How do ya know Rick?"

"I was friends with Lori when we were younger. I recognized Carl outside and he put me in here to wait for Rick."

"How long have ya been in here?"

"I don't know. I fell asleep," I said honestly.

"Pretty thing. Ain't she Darlina?" I looked at a mirror in the cell and realized how much I had changed from the last time I had really studied myself in a mirror. My black hair was falling out of the braid and the strands around my face that had been soaked with sweat curled around my face. Dirt streaked my now tan skin; I remembered how pail I had once been. I was never one for being outside, but once the dead started walking around, I had no other choice. My green eyes shone brightly against my dirty face as did the small diamond stud on my upper lip. My Monroe piercing was one of my favorites. My hand went up to my face and I ran my fingertips over the stud. My nose was pierced as was my belly button and my ears.

My clothes were filthy also. I had a simple black pink and gray long sleeve plaid shirt on with a pink camisole underneath and a pair of knee length denim shorts. My combat boots were black and covered in mud and what I assumed was blood. But I didn't want to think about that too much. I reached behind me and pulled out the pony tail holder and tried to run my fingers through my hair which had grown down to my waist in the time since the dead started walking. It was to knotted though, and as I tried to twist it back into a braid, my pony tail holder snapped. "Shit," I said holding onto the snapped pony tail holder.

"Ohhh such a dirty word out of such a purty little mouth," Merle said. I ignored him, and the comments Jack was making. "Shut up Merle," Daryl said looking at me still. I tried to tie the ends back together again as Merle walked off but the elastic and fabric that covered it was just too brittle. I sighed and threw it on the bed.

"Rick went off somewhere. I don't know when he'll be back," Daryl said.

"Great," I said flopping onto the bed.

'_I'll go see where he went,_' Lori said to me and I sighed as she left.

"Ya really know Lori?"

"Yeah," I said standing up and pacing from one side of the room to the other several times. Daryl stood there for a moment with a smirk on his face. I walked up to him slowly. "I know I'm in here for a reason. You people obviously haven't had it easy. But I feel like a caged animal at the zoo with you watching me like this. So unless you're going to try to make friendly conversation…" I let my voice trail off. Daryl just walked away with the same smirk on his face as I flopped backwards onto the bed with a heavy sigh.

A few minutes later, a woman with gray hair and a motherly face showed up at the door to the cell. "Karmya. Right?"

"Yes?" I asked sitting up.

"I was told you were feeling a bit like an animal. Would you like to go take a shower while you wait for Rick?"

"A shower?" I asked almost running to the door. The woman laughed and nodded. "That would be amazing!" I almost yelled, "Thank you! Thank you so much…"

"Carol," the woman said with a big smile on her face. The name sounded familiar, but I figured I would think about that later, because the only thing I wanted to think about was how a shower felt against my skin. "Do you have clean clothes?" Carol asked.

"Define clean," I said smiling.

"Well you can borrow one of the girls' clothes while I get yours washed."

"I couldn't have you washing my clothes," I said ready to fight about that.

"It's the least I can do for one of Lori's friends. She did so much for me and my daughter. I wasn't there for her when she needed me to be. It's the least I can do."

"Alright," I sighed handing her my bag with all my clothes in it. Which contained maybe five or six different outfits, if you could even call them that. "Thank you Carol," I said as she walked with me to the shower area. I could tell that she trusted people more then Carl, that or maybe she figured that I didn't have any weapons on me and that I was safe to walk around with. However, I also thought that Daryl watching over us from a perch was making her feel even safer. She talked as we walked together until we arrived at the showers. She put the clean clothes that I was borrowing from someone on a counter top where they wouldn't get wet. "Alright," she said smiling at me, "If you don't think that you can find your way back, I'll come check on you in twenty minutes or so. But if you can get back, just let yourself back into the cell. Hopefully Rick will be back by then."

"Thank you so much," I said to her, "Really, you have no idea how much this means to me."

"You're welcome," she said before turning and leaving.

'_I'll stand watch_,' Char said as she walked to the door showing up for the first time since we met Lori.

'_And I'll sit right here_,' Jack said after Char said. He sat down in the corner of the bathroom where I had turned the water on to warm up. I laughed and undressed as tears fell down my cheek knowing that I would never be able to touch Jack again, and from this moment on, things were about to be really different. And I wasn't sure if I was ready or not.

(A/N – thank you for reading! Let me know what you think!)


	3. Chapter 3 She's Here

(A/N – A big thank you to hideher who gave me the idea of italics for the conversations, and Thedragoness821 for the review! I love reviews! Enjoy and tell me what you think!)

I took longer then I thought I would in the shower. It had been so long since I had felt the water of a shower running over my body. The flow of it relaxed me so much and took my mind back to a place that was happier, before the outbreak, and for a moment I forgot where I was. I really thought that I was back in my house with Jack. I remembered waking up early in the morning and taking a shower while Jack was making breakfast in the kitchen. As I rinsed out my hair and felt the water massage my scalp I remembered Jack slipping into the shower with me and rinsing the rest of the soap out of my hair.

The memories were so vivid that I remembered how it felt when he would rub his fingers against my scalp. He would kiss me and hold me and we would spend so much time just holding each other and kissing each other that we would often burn breakfast or almost late for work. My friends would tease me saying that we were having too much "fun", but in all truth, maybe only a third of the times that we were late we actually did more then kiss. That was what I loved about Jack. We didn't have to have sex to feel close. Just kissing his was enough for me. Feeling his hand on my back, my face, or my arm was just as intimate as anything else.

And that's when I remembered, I still loved him. But he wasn't here to share those touches with me anymore. "_Karmya_," I heard Jack's voice whisper close to my ear.

"No," I cried out with my back against the wall. As Jack talked to me and tried to calm me down, I just felt my grasp on life slip further and further away. I slid down the wall and tears just streamed down my face. I sat with my knees up and my head leaning against them while my hands palmed my forehead and my fingers were wrapped in my hair. "No. No. No. No!" I cried out shaking my head as Jack tried to get my attention.

"Karmya?" I heard Carol's voice call out.

"_Mommy_?" Sophia called popping up next to me.

"_Sophia_?" I asked her in my thoughts. "_Is this really your mother?_"

"_Yes_," she whispered. I tried my best to sniff away the tears. "Karmya," Carol called out again, "Are you alright in there?"

"Yea," I said standing up and turning off the water, "I'm coming out right now. Sorry about the wait Carol."

"It's alright," she said with a bit of laughter in her voice, "I remember how it felt the first time I took a shower after the dead came back. I think I spent half an hour in there."

"Still, I'm a guest, I shouldn't be making you wait," I said as I wrapped a towel around me and walked out. She was leaning against the wall with her arms crossed loosely over her chest and she was looking down at her shoes. "Carol?" I asked walking up to my clothes, "You ok?"

"Sorry," she said smiling shyly at me, "I was just thinking."

"What about?"

"Just someone I lost. Someone I miss."

"_I'm right here mommy. Please don't cry_," Sophia was standing next to her mother and trying to touch her mother's arm. But Sophia's hand kept passing through her mother's arm and Carol started rubbing her arm where goose bumps started forming.

"Someone you love," I said softly as I picked up the clothes and ran my hands over material.

"Yes," she replied with misty eyes.

"I lost someone I loved. Still love," I said as I slip the first shirt over my head. It was a few sizes too big, so I reached for the other one to try it on.

"Who did you lose?" Carol asked. But as soon as the words left her mouth, her hands flew up and covered her mouth, "I'm sorry. I don't know anything about you and here I am asking you about your private life."

"His name is Jack," I said smiling at her, "He was my boyfriend. Fiancée," I added correcting myself.

"I'm so sorry. I lost my husband early on in this mess."

"I'm sorry to hear that," I said knowing, after what Sophia had told me, that it was a good thing that he died.

"Don't be," Carol said, "He was a monster and I know that if this mess wouldn't have happened he would still be here, and I would still be with him. The only good thing that man ever did was give me my daughter."

"What's our daughter's name?"

"Sophia. Her name was Sophia."

"Do you think about her a lot?"

"There isn't a day that goes by that I don't think about my daughter. I miss her so much. In the end I didn't even get to say good bye to her." We stopped talking then, and I tried on different shirts and pants while Sophia begged me to tell her mom that she was right here. Sophia wanted so much to talk to her mother. But I had just met this woman, and I had no clue how she would take to the fact that I could talk to the dead, and that her daughter was right here with us.

"_Please_!" Sophia had tears in her eyes as she begged me over and over again.

"_I'm sorry Sophia, I don't know how your mother will understand what I can do_," I thought back to her trying to get her to understand that if I told Carol that Sophia was right here with us, Carol might tell the others and get me kicked out before I could even see Rick.

"_My mother believes in God. She prays, I know she does, I've heard her. She'll understand. Please Karmya, please talk to my mother. We never got to say good bye. She didn't even go to my funeral._"

"_I'll try_," I finally said sighing.

"Nothing fits?" Carol asked looking at me. I had a gray short sleeve shirt that fit me well accept it was a little tight around the chest, and a pair of jean shorts that were frayed at the bottom and a size too big. But it was better then nothing and I was just happy to be in clean clothes. I had wrapped my hair up in a towel, but it was falling out and dripping onto the shirt. "Carol," I said looking at her wearily.

"Yes?" she asked looking genuinely concerned.

"I need to talk to you about something," I said trying to keep eye contact with her. I knew from experience that this was not an easy thing to hear. "Ok?" she asked a little concerned now. I could see how tense she was just by looking at the way that she was standing. Her hands where now down at her sides and ready to grab, and use, any weapon that she had on her, and her feet were spread apart a little bit in case she needed to run or stand her ground, and her head was tilted a little bit to the side showing me that she was listening to me, but she was also listening to see if anyone was around, to help her, or hurt her. "Do you believe in spirits?" I tried the blunt method.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean do you believe that we all have a soul, or a spirit inside of us?"

"Yes, I think we all do. Why?"

"Do you think that sometimes the spirits of people stay on Earth after their bodies have expired?"

"What are you getting at?"

"Do you believe in ghosts?"

"I think I'd believe in almost anything now. I mean I've seen the dead come back to life and eat the living," she said this in a joking way. When I said 'ghost' I knew she didn't think that this was a serious conversation anymore. I took a deep breath, "Carol, I can see the dead."

"We all can," she said folding the clothes that didn't fit me.

"No Carol," I said putting my hands on her shoulders so that she would look at me, "I can see your daughter."

(A/N – Toda! Lol I hope that you enjoyed this short chapter. I thought this would be a good place to end it! Hopefully it will have you coming back to read more. Let me know what you think a review or pm. Thanks for reading!)


	4. Chapter 4 Acceptence

(A/N – So I know I left the last chapter on a tiny cliff hanger, but I hope that it didn't upset to many readers! Let me know what you think please! I'm addicted to reviews!)

"What?" Carol asked me. I knew how she felt; scared hurt shocked. This wasn't something that you heard every day, especially not from someone you've never met before.

"I can see Sophia, Carol," I said again slowly. My hands were still on her shoulders and she wasn't even blinking, "And I have been able to see her for a while now. She's actually here, with us right now."

"Is this some kind of sick joke to you?" she asked stepping away from me.

"No Carol, you need to believe me. Your daughter wants to talk to you."

"You're sick! How could you do that to me after I just told you about how much I miss her and how much it hurt me to lose her!"

"I know Carol, but please. You need to listen to me."

"No, you need to leave," Carol said turning to leave.

"You didn't go to your daughter's funeral," I said to her as she walked away.

"What?" she asked turning back to face me.

"I said you didn't go see Sophia when they buried her. You hid in the RV because you thought that the body that had walked out of the barn was not your daughter. You said Sophia had died a long time ago."

"Who told you that?" Carol said with tears in her eyes.

"Sophia did," I said looking straight at her, "Right now. She's still telling me about how Daryl came to see you and he was so upset with you that he drifted away from the group for a long time. She watched you. She was there when you walked into the forest and cried. She was there when you ripped the grass from the ground and got so dirty that when you came back a man named Shane thought you were a walker. He almost shot you, but when he saw it was you, he helped to clean you up."

"How," Carol whispered, "No one knows about that." Tears were now streaming down her face.

"I told you Carol. Sophia is here. She is telling me to tell you this. She wants you to know that it really is her that is here with us."

"My baby," Carol sobbed out and fell to her knees. I held Carol as she sat there and cried. I knew that there was nothing I could do to help her accept this. She either had to accept this on her own or I knew that she was just going to blow it all off and forget about this ever happening.

After her sobbing subsided, she looked up at me. "Where is she?" I looked down to the right side of Carol.

"She's kneeling right next to you," I said letting go of Carol.

"Sophia?" Carol said trying hard to see her daughter.

"She says she loves you," I told Carol.

"I love you too Sophia. I'm so sorry that I wasn't there for you. You were all alone in those woods, I never got the chance to say good bye. I shouldn't have had to. I thought for so long that we were going to find you. We were so close so many times. I'm so sorry. A mother is supposed to be there for her child. I couldn't do anything to help you. I just watched as you were chased away by a monster."

"_Mommy don't cry_," Sophia said, "_Tell her it is not her fault. I should've just stayed where I was told to. I thought I could find my way back. But it was dark and I got lost. I don't really remember the rest_."

"Carol," I said holding her hands in mine, "Sophia wants me to tell you that she doesn't want you to cry. She knows that she should've stayed where she was instead of trying to find her way back in the dark. But she wants you to know that she didn't and doesn't blame you. She knows how hard it was for you and she wants you to know that she doesn't remember anything after getting lost. Do you know what that means?" Carol shook her head no. "It means that she doesn't remember being scared, or sick or afraid. It means she doesn't remember being bit Carol."

Carol immediately started sobbing again. This time the tears where those that were a mix of sadness and joy. Carol missed her daughter, and I knew this, but she was also glad that Sophia didn't have those horrible memories. "Tell her that I came to see her every day," Sophia said touching her mother's arm. Goose bumps rose on Carol's arm and she just rubbed them away.

"Carol," I said stopping her hand, "that's Sophia. That's why you're getting cold. She's touching you. She wants you to know that she comes to see you every day."

Carol Sophia and I sat there and talked for hours. We didn't get up until the sun began to set. "Carol," I said knowing that this was going to be hard, "We need to get going."

"But, Sophia," she said with tears still falling down her face.

"Sophia will be with us the entire time. Just because you can't see her, or touch her, doesn't mean that she isn't here. She's not going anywhere Carol. She never really has. You need to remember that she will always be with you in your heart."

"I love you Sophia," Carol said out loud.

"_Love you mommy_," Sophia said. And that was one thing that I didn't need to repeat.

As we walked, we walked in silence. Sophia never left her mother's side and it almost felt as if Carol knew that she was there with us. It took us a while to get back to the cells, but once we did, everyone ran up to Carol asking her if she was alright. She tried to answer everyone's questions, but before she could Rick had me at gun point and he led me back into the cell that I had been in before.

"Who are you?" Rick asked loudly and clearly.

"My name is Karmya," I said trying to talk over the noise that was going on with Carol, "I knew Lori." At that everyone stopped talking.

"How did you know my wife?" he asked me already holstering his gun.

"I went to school with her. We both got busy after school and we never really saw each other very often. We talked over the phone though. We talked a lot while you were in the hospital."

"She never told me about you. You don't have a common name, I'd remember that name if I heard it."

"We stopped talking when I started work. We only talked every now and then for birthdays or holidays." Rick sighed and rubbed the back of his head with his hands. "Karmya, right?" Rick asked and I nodded a yes. "Listen, we are going through a lot right now, so I am sorry that we are all on edge. I know my son told you that Lori is no longer with us, but she isn't the only one we have lost. We've lost so many," Rick said dropping his head and running his hands over his face, "We are just trying to be careful," he finally said picking his head up.

"I know Rick. I've lost people too, a lot of them. I know what you're going through. I lost my fiancée just a few days ago," I said fighting back the tears in my eyes and trying to not let the gut wrenching feeling send me to the floor.

"I'm sorry for your loss," he said reaching for his keys.

"And I'm sorry for yours," I said looking at him while I could hear Lori crying next to me.

"And I'm sorry for the confusion, but with how things are going these days, the living can be more dangerous then the dead."

"The living have always been more dangerous," I said walking out of the cell and into the group of scared survivors. I could see that they had shoved almost all of their humanity out of their lives, and I pitied them. I knew that it was hard to live lately while still loving and caring about others, but it wasn't impossible. I believed that you could still be you, no matter what was going on around you.

"I'm Karmya," I said firmly meeting all their eyes to show them that I was strong enough to brave a crowd.

"That's Glen and Maggie," Rick said motioning to the couple I had met earlier and Maggie waved a little while Glen nodded, "Over there is Hershel, Beth and my baby, Judith," I smiled at them and watched as Lori touched her baby's head and the baby locked eyes with her. I knew that younger children could see spirits, but most grew out of that stage because their parents told them that there were no such things as ghosts. Hershel smiled at me and I knew that he was going to be the kind voice for the group. Beth gave me a smaller smile and hugged Judith closer to her. "Over there is Daryl and Merle. Brothers, but I'm sure you already figured that out," I nodded over at the two men who were watching me carefully from their perch on the second floor. "And you know Carol and my son Carl," Rick said, but Carl still didn't seem too happy that I was there.

"I just wish I could've seen Lori, she would've helped this situation, I am sorry that I scared your family," I said touching Rick's shoulder with my hand. He placed his hand over mine and I knew that thinking about Lori was still a hard thing for him to do. "Can we get you something to eat?" Beth said stepping forward. Just then my stomach growled and I blushed. "So that's a yes," Beth smiled.

"Food would be amazing. I haven't eaten in what feels like forever," I said remembering why that was true, "This might be too much of a favor to ask, but may I hold Judith?" I asked looking more at Rick than Beth.

"Sure you can," Rick said after a moment of thinking. Beth carefully handed Judith over and headed off to get me some food. "She looks so much like Lori," I said quietly.

"Thankfully," Daryl joked walking down the stairs and patting Rick's shoulder before exiting the room.

"Hey baby girl," I cooed. I put my finger in her hand and she grabbed on tight.

"_My baby_," Lori said.

"You know Judith; your mother loves you very much. You have to be strong for you father and brother. They won't ever tell you that they need you. But you need to help them. Your mother is so proud of you." And as I spoke to her, it was as if she understood everything that I was saying.

After a few moments we all started talking. "So," Maggie said, "You have a very different name."

"Yes," I smiled, "I know."

"Family name?" she asked again.

"Kind of," I said hugging Judith. I knew that Jack was next to me but I was doing everything I could to not look at him right now. "I'm named after my grandmother, Mary Kay."

"Maybe I'm a little slow here," Hershel said with a smile, "But those names don't seem to have anything to do with each other."

"Well," I laughed, "K-a-r-m-y-a, pronounced karma is all of the same letters in M-a-r-y-K-a-y. Well except one y. My mother wanted it to be family orientated, and she liked how original my name was."

"Well that is different," Hershel said with a smile.

"Yeah, I've heard that a lot," I smiled thinking of the first time I met Jack. We all talked a little more about the prison and the people that they had lost. I felt bad for them; I knew that nothing was easy any more but these people had gone through so much. I didn't know if I was going to be able to help at all.

"Food is ready," Beth called out. I smiled and went to hand the baby to Rick, but Maggie stepped in and took her. I made a note of that and headed towards Beth. Daryl and Merle eventually showed up in the room when I was just sitting down. Beth handed me some meat she had been able to warm up and some corn that I assumed they had found in the prison. I took a small bite of the meat and smiled at her, "I'm assuming it's those two who went out and got squirrel for the group.

"How'd ya know it was squirrel?" Daryl asked sitting down across from me with some meat.

"Just do," I smiled taking another bite. I knew that this man was nothing like his brother. He might be a little jagged on the outside, but I could see how the group looked at him. They needed him, and he needed them.

"Come on brother," Merle said hitting him on the back firmly, "Let's get goin before the rain hits and washes away them tracks we found."

"Going hunting?" I asked.

"Yep," Merle said with a smile, "Gotta keep pretty things like you from fadin away."

"Gotcha," I smirked back at him, "Can I come?"

"No," Daryl said at the same time Merle said, "Yes."

"Aw come on Daryl! Let the girly come. Let's see what she can do."

"She'll scare everything away. 'Sides, why you wanta come with us?"

"Wanta help out," I said with a piece of squirrel in my mouth.

"Fine," Daryl said marching off. Merle just smirked and followed. I scarfed down the rest of the food and took a drink out of the water bottle before following after them. Daryl was getting the rest of his gear packed when I walked in. "Don't ya have some packing to do?"

"I'm ready when you are," I said leaning against the wall.

"Yer either brave or stupid," Daryl muttered.

"Maybe a little bit of both," I laughed. Downstairs I could hear Judith crying. A few moments later a tired looking Maggie walked up the stairs with Judith. I walked over to her, "You ok?"

"She won't stop crying," Maggie said, "I don't know what's wrong."

"May I?"

"Here," Maggie said handing over the baby. The moment Judith saw me she stopped crying. "Would ya look at that," Daryl said patting the little girl on the head, "The lil ass kicker likes her."

"Guess I can't be that bad," I said rocking her until she fell asleep in my arms. I gently handed her back to Maggie and followed Daryl down to my cell and picked up a smaller bag that was attached to my backpack. Merle met us at the door and I smiled at him with the small bag slung over my shoulders. "Don't you look cute," Merle teased me. The more that Merle talked the more I could see that he was an asshole, but he wasn't a horrible person. I could see that he was very protective of his little brother and that he wouldn't hurt me unless I was a threat to either him or someone he cared about. He was just a giant asshole.

And even though I wasn't too sure about everyone here, I felt decently safe. I was happy to have living people to talk to, I was happy to have food, and I was happy to be able to go hunting with a group. Even if it was with Merle.

(A/N- sorry I know it has been a while! But we had some things going on in the family. I hope you like it! Let me know what you think!)


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